Seal plate with fluid bypass control

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates generally to a manifold including a plurality of manifold channels disposed therethrough, each manifold channel including a manifold channel opening, and a seal plate, including a plurality of seal plate apertures disposed thereon, operably coupled to the manifold, wherein the seal plate includes at least one seal plate channel extending between at least two of the plurality of seal plate apertures.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to, and claims the priority benefitof, U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/980,090 filed Apr.16, 2014, the contents of which are hereby incorporated in theirentirety into the present disclosure.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure is generally related to gas turbine engines and,more specifically, to a seal plate with fluid bypass control.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

Traditionally, manifolds for use with gas turbine engines are comprisedof a single-piece part that comprises a cast component with cored flowpassages. As fluids are pumped through the manifold, pressure buildstherein which requires a bypass to relieve the pressure. Such bypassesmay be integral to the manifold or external; thus, resulting inincreased costs for the manifold assembly.

Improvements in manifold assemblies are therefore needed in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

In one aspect, a manifold assembly is provided. The manifold assemblyincludes a manifold including a plurality of manifold channels disposedtherethrough, each of the plurality of manifold channels including amanifold channel opening. The manifold assembly further includes a sealplate operably coupled to the manifold. The seal plate includes aplurality of seal plate apertures disposed thereon. Each of the manifoldchannel openings are aligned with a respective one of the seal plateapertures.

The seal plate further includes at least one seal plate channelconnecting at least two of the plurality of seal plate apertures toallow a fluid to pass therethrough. In at least one embodiment, the atleast two seal plate apertures connected by the at least one seal platechannel are adjacent to one another.

In at least one embodiment, the at least one seal plate channel includesa bypass type channel. In at least one embodiment, the at least one sealplate channel includes a venturi type channel. In at least oneembodiment, the at least one seal plate channel includes an orifice typechannel. In at least one embodiment, a first one of the at least oneseal plate channels extends between a first one of the plurality of sealplate apertures and a second one of the at least one seal platechannels.

Other embodiments are also disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments and other features, advantages and disclosures containedherein, and the manner of attaining them, will become apparent and thepresent disclosure will be better understood by reference to thefollowing description of various exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a gas turbine engine;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a manifold assembly in an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a manifold assembly in anembodiment;

FIGS. 4A-D are front views of embodiments of seal plate channels; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of manifold assemblies operablycoupled to one another to create a fluid circuit in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENTS

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of thepresent disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodimentsillustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used todescribe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitationof the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a gas turbine engine 20. The gasturbine engine 20 is disclosed herein as a two-spool turbofan thatgenerally incorporates a fan section 22, a compressor section 24, acombustor section 26 and a turbine section 28. Alternative engines mightinclude an augmentor section (not shown) among other systems orfeatures. The fan section 22 drives air along a bypass flow path B in abypass duct, while the compressor section 24 drives air along a coreflow path C for compression and communication into the combustor section26 then expansion through the turbine section 28. Although depicted as atwo-spool turbofan gas turbine engine in the disclosed non-limitingembodiment, it should be understood that the concepts described hereinare not limited to use with two-spool turbofans as the teachings may beapplied to other types of turbine engines including three-spoolarchitectures.

The exemplary engine 20 generally includes a low speed spool 30 and ahigh speed spool 32 mounted for rotation about an engine centrallongitudinal axis A relative to an engine static structure 36 viaseveral bearing systems 38. It should be understood that various bearingsystems 38 at various locations may alternatively or additionally beprovided, and the location of bearing systems 38 may be varied asappropriate to the application.

The low speed spool 30 generally includes an inner shaft 40 thatinterconnects a fan 42, a low pressure compressor 44 and a low pressureturbine 46. The inner shaft 40 is connected to the fan 42 through aspeed change mechanism, which in exemplary gas turbine engine 20 isillustrated as a geared architecture 48 to drive the fan 42 at a lowerspeed than the low speed spool 30. The high speed spool 32 includes anouter shaft 50 that interconnects a high pressure compressor 52 and highpressure turbine 54. A combustor 56 is arranged in exemplary gas turbine20 between the high pressure compressor 52 and the high pressure turbine54. An engine static structure 36 is arranged generally between the highpressure turbine 54 and the low pressure turbine 46. The engine staticstructure 36 further supports bearing systems 38 in the turbine section28. The inner shaft 40 and the outer shaft 50 are concentric and rotatevia bearing systems 38 about the engine central longitudinal axis Awhich is collinear with their longitudinal axes.

The core airflow is compressed by the low pressure compressor 44 thenthe high pressure compressor 52, mixed and burned with fuel in thecombustor 56, then expanded over the high pressure turbine 54 and lowpressure turbine 46. The turbines 46, 54 rotationally drive therespective low speed spool 30 and high speed spool 32 in response to theexpansion. It will be appreciated that each of the positions of the fansection 22, compressor section 24, combustor section 26, turbine section28, and fan drive gear system 48 may be varied. For example, gear system48 may be located aft of combustor section 26 or even aft of turbinesection 28, and fan section 22 may be positioned forward or aft of thelocation of gear system 48.

The engine 20 in one example is a high-bypass geared aircraft engine. Ina further example, the engine 20 bypass ratio is greater than about six(6), with an example embodiment being greater than about ten (10), thegeared architecture 48 is an epicyclic gear train, such as a planetarygear system or other gear system, with a gear reduction ratio of greaterthan about 2.3 and the low pressure turbine 46 has a pressure ratio thatis greater than about five. In one disclosed embodiment, the engine 20bypass ratio is greater than about ten (10:1), the fan diameter issignificantly larger than that of the low pressure compressor 44, andthe low pressure turbine 46 has a pressure ratio that is greater thanabout five 5:1. Low pressure turbine 46 pressure ratio is pressuremeasured prior to inlet of low pressure turbine 46 as related to thepressure at the outlet of the low pressure turbine 46 prior to anexhaust nozzle. The geared architecture 48 may be an epicycle geartrain, such as a planetary gear system or other gear system, with a gearreduction ratio of greater than about 2.3:1. It should be understood,however, that the above parameters are only exemplary of one embodimentof a geared architecture engine and that the present invention isapplicable to other gas turbine engines including direct driveturbofans.

A significant amount of thrust is provided by the bypass flow B due tothe high bypass ratio. The fan section 22 of the engine 20 is designedfor a particular flight condition—typically cruise at about 0.8 Mach andabout 35,000 feet (10,688 meters). The flight condition of 0.8 Mach and35,000 ft., with the engine at its best fuel consumption—also known as“bucket cruise Thrust Specific Fuel Consumption (‘TSFC’)”—is theindustry standard parameter of lbm of fuel being burned divided by lbfof thrust the engine produces at that minimum point. “Low fan pressureratio” is the pressure ratio across the fan blade alone, without a FanExit Guide Vane (“FEGV”) system. The low fan pressure ratio as disclosedherein according to one non-limiting embodiment is less than about 1.45.“Low corrected fan tip speed” is the actual fan tip speed in ft/secdivided by an industry standard temperature correction of [(Tram °R)/(518.7° R)]^(0.5). The “Low corrected fan tip speed” as disclosedherein according to one non-limiting embodiment is less than about 1150ft/second (350.5 m/sec).

FIGS. 2 and 3 schematically illustrate a manifold assembly 60. Themanifold assembly 60 includes a manifold 62 having a manifold firstsurface 63 a (FIG. 3) which is a top surface of the manifold and amanifold second surface 63 b (FIG. 5) which is a bottom surface of themanifold, and including a plurality of manifold channels 64 (channels64A and 64B shown) disposed therethrough, each of the plurality ofmanifold channels 64 including a manifold channel opening 66. Themanifold assembly 60 further includes a seal plate 68 operably coupledto the manifold 62. It will be appreciated that the seal plate may becomposed of any suitable material such as aluminum, steel, and titaniumto name a few non-limiting examples. The seal plate 68 includes aplurality of seal plate apertures 70 disposed thereon. Each of themanifold channel openings 66 are aligned with a respective one of theseal plate apertures 70.

The seal plate 68 further includes at least one seal plate channel 72connecting at least two of the plurality of seal plate apertures 70 toallow a fluid to pass therethrough. In at least one embodiment, the atleast two seal plate apertures 70 connected by the at least one sealplate channel 72 are adjacent to one another. The at least one sealplate channel 72 is configured to regulate a fluid pressure of a fluidcircuit later described herein.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the at least one sealplate channel 72 includes a bypass type channel. In at least oneembodiment, as shown in FIG. 4B, the at least one seal plate channel 72includes a venturi type channel. As defined herein, a venturi typechannel is an opening which employs a temporary restriction or narrowingalong at least a portion of its length. In at least one embodiment, asshown in FIG. 4C, the at least one seal plate channel 72 includes anorifice type channel. As defined herein, an orifice type channel is anopening which employs a temporary restriction in the middle and widenstowards the ends. FIG. 4D shows an embodiment where a first seal platechannel 72A extends between seal plate apertures 70A and 70B, positionedadjacent to one another, and a second seal plate channel 72B extendingbetween seal plate aperture 70C and the first seal plate channel 72A.This arrangement may be used to reduce fluid pressure within a fluidcircuit connected to seal plate apertures 70A and 70B, as well as expelfluid from the manifold 62 through seal plate aperture 70C.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a seal plate 68 operably coupled to afirst manifold assembly 60, and a second manifold assembly (not shown)operably coupled to the seal plate 68 via a pair of conduits 76 and 78.The conduits 76 and 78 create a fluid circuit to circulate a fluidbetween the first manifold assembly 60 and the second manifold assemblyat a circuit flow rate. For example, oil to name one non-limitingexample, is circulated between the manifold channel 64A (as shown inFIG. 3) of the first manifold assembly 60 through conduit 76 to amanifold channel (not shown) of the second manifold assembly. The fluidreturns to the manifold channel 64B of first manifold assembly 60 viathe conduit 78. Fluid is circulated in the aforementioned fluid circuitto aid in the lubrication of parts within the gas turbine engine 20. Asthe fluid circulates between the first manifold assembly 60 and thesecond manifold assembly, pressure builds within the fluid circuit. Torelieve and/or regulate the fluid pressure within the fluid circuit, theat least one seal plate channel 72 creates a bypass between manifoldchannels 64A and 64B. It will be appreciated that the geometry of the atleast one seal plate channel 72 and the cross-sectional area of the atleast one seal plate channel 72 is selected based on a mass flow rateand a downstream pressure drop of the fluid circuit.

It will be appreciated that the seal plate 68 includes at least one sealplate channel 72 connecting at least two of the plurality of seal plateapertures 70 disposed thereon to create a bypass that regulates thepressure in a fluid circuit. It will also be appreciated that the atleast one seal plate channel 72 reduces costs of the manifold assembly60, and increases design flexibility of the manifold assembly 60 to meetflow requirements of the fluid circuit as additional parts or machinetooling would not be required to create a necessary bypass.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in thedrawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood thatonly certain embodiments have been shown and described and that allchanges and modifications that come within the spirit of the inventionare desired to be protected.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of regulating pressure between fluidlycoupled manifold assemblies in a gas turbine engine, the gas turbineengine comprising: a manifold assembly, wherein the manifold assemblycomprises: a manifold having a first surface and a second surface, thefirst surface being a top surface of the manifold and the second surfacebeing a bottom surface of the manifold, the manifold including aplurality of adjacently disposed manifold channels extending through themanifold, the plurality of manifold channels including a first manifoldchannel and a second manifold channel; a plurality of manifold channelopenings respectively disposed at the first surface of the manifold,above the plurality of manifold channels, the plurality of manifoldchannel openings including a first manifold channel opening disposedabove the first manifold channel and a second manifold channel openingdisposed above the second manifold channel; and a seal plate disposedabove the first surface of the manifold and including a plurality ofseal plate apertures, operably coupled to the manifold, the plurality ofseal plate apertures including a first seal plate aperture disposedabove the first manifold channel opening and a second seal plateaperture disposed above the second manifold channel opening; and theseal plate including at least a first seal plate channel longitudinallyextending between and connecting the first seal plate aperture and thesecond seal plate aperture, wherein the first seal plate channel islongitudinally symmetrical and has a first end and a longitudinallyopposing second end, and the seal plate channel includes a middleportion disposed longitudinally between the first end and the secondend, and the middle portion has a constricted transverse span to definea constricted flow area, wherein each of the plurality of seal plateapertures is aligned with a respective one of the plurality of firstmanifold channel openings, and the first seal plate aperture and thesecond seal plate aperture connected by and adjacent to the first sealplate channel, a stepwise transition to the constricted flow area of themiddle portion of the first seal plate channel from a longitudinallyadjacent portion of the first seal plate channel, wherein the first sealplate channel is transversely symmetrical, and the manifold assembly isa first manifold assembly and the gas turbine engine further comprises asecond manifold assembly operably coupled to the seal plate to create afluid circuit between the first manifold assembly and the secondmanifold assembly, and the method comprising: circulating fluid throughthe fluid circuit in the gas turbine engine, wherein fluid is suppliedto the second manifold assembly from the first manifold assembly viafluid flowing consecutively through the first manifold channel, thefirst manifold opening, and the first seal plate aperture, and whereinthe circulating fluid is returned to the first manifold assembly fromthe second manifold assembly via fluid flowing consecutively through thesecond seal plate aperture, the second manifold opening, and the secondmanifold channel; and regulating fluid pressure within the fluid circuitvia a fluid bypass defined by the first seal plate channel connectingthe first seal plate aperture and the second seal plate aperture.